The Symphony of the Hills will soon be playing a pops concert in Kerrville.
"The title of this concert is America’s Favorite Music," said Conductor and Artistic Director Jay Dunnahoo, and he’s not kidding. The Symphony of the Hills’ January 11 concert at the Cailloux Theater runs the gamut of American music.
As Dunnahoo explained, the concert starts out with this one:
"'The Colonel Bogey March,' which is the music from the 'Bridge over the River Kwai,'" he said.
You may remember it as the popular song where the tune is kept by whistling.
"Another number is by Mark O’Connor," Dunnahoo said. His compositions for fiddle and orchestra are just amazing. It’s a beautiful piece that’s going to be performed by Nancy Zhou."
Zhou is the daughter of the former Symphony of the Hills concert master and is studying music at Harvard. The week after her Kerrville performance she solos with the San Antonio Symphony’s Dvořák Festival.
"Also on the program is 'Lone Star Pageant,'" Dunahoo said.
The symphony will play a western-themed medley featuring songs written about Texas cities, including 'El Paso,' 'Streets of Laredo,' 'San Antonio Rose' and 'Galveston.
The symphony cuts a wide path through a big genre-bending group of American music.
"We are going to do a tribute to Irving Berlin" Dunnahoo said. "It includes pieces like 'There’s No Business Like Show Business,' 'Alexander’s Ragtime Band,' and 'Puttin' on the Ritz.'"
The group will also feature a medley from the hit movie "Grease," and several numbers by the Beach Boys. Their second soloist is a local man.
"Kevin McCormick is a wonderful guitarist here in town, classically trained," Dunnahoo said.
With the Symphony of the Hills he’ll be doing several contemporary numbers including "All you need is love" by the Beatles.
And all you need to see the Symphony of the Hills "Pops" America's Favorite Music is tickets, which you can get at the website below.
- Learn more about the performance at: www.symphonyofthehills.org
